Tapping Into The Terroir Of Gin With St George Spirits

Cocktails Distilled

The US craft distillation movement has come a long way in recent years, especially for gin. No longer seen as the lesser of the white spirits, US gin is contributing not only to the conversation but also to the glass.
Unlike many other spirits... I'll start that again. Unlike many other spirits, gin is in the unique position to be able to capture the true sense of place through the use of local botanicals. It is a liquid that can express the essential character and spirit of a particular locale.

One such gin that is embracing the flavours that be found on its doorstep is St. George distilleries Terroir Gin expression. To find out more, we talked to Lance Winters, president and master distiller for St. George Spirits about their botanical gin, its distillation, and how it can be used.

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1. Tapping Into The Terroir Of Gin With St George Spirits (00:00:00)

2. Now, you define your Terroir Gin as being an ode to the wild beauty of the Golden State. What exactly does that mean? (00:01:38)

3. Now you talked about gins being based on London Drys. The main profile feature of a London Dry is the fact that it's Juniper Forward, but your gin is also Juniper Forward. (00:03:23)

4. How difficult is it to bottle that sense of place? (00:04:36)

5. How many versions were there? (00:05:59)

6. I've read a review of the gin that talks about the Douglas Fir being one of the best botanicals to really bring forth the flavour of the Juniper. Do you agree with that? (00:06:24)

7. Now, other than the Douglas Fir that I've mentioned, what other botanicals did you actually use in the gin? (00:07:02)

8. Can you take us through the process of using those botanicals? Do you vapour infuse or how have you gotten the flavours into the liquid? (00:08:50)

9. To someone who hasn't tasted the gin before, how would you describe it? (00:09:46)

10. A lot of people are saying that the US is now finally going through a gin renaissance. Do you agree with that idea? (00:11:55)

11. Would you say that where US gins will make their impact is by finding place with the botanicals in gin? (00:12:49)

12. So, does that mean that you believe that the future of gin is very much in the inverted commerce modern style of gin? (00:14:19)

13. Now, what you were saying earlier about the US being a little bit slow with the trend, you do have two other very fine white spirit categories in vodka and tequila. Do you think gin will be able to really get a wedge into their dominance? (00:15:06)

14. As you were coming to the trend later than the UK for example, is there a lot more place for innovation or has the innovation already been done? (00:16:01)

15. Are you a gin drinker yourself? (00:16:37)

16. Now, you mentioned that the gin had flavours that remind you of a forest. Does that make it a savoury gin in taste? (00:17:13)

17. So, it is quite a versatile gin in terms of the cocktails that you can make with it. (00:18:32)

18. Now, the gin's been out for quite a while. I imagine you've seen a lot of bartenders playing around and experimenting with it. What's the most unusual drink that you've seen a bartender create? (00:19:48)

19. If somebody is buying it for the first time, how would you recommend they first approach it and use it? (00:20:33)

20. Now, what is the reaction of the public being to the gin? (00:21:19)

21. Now, since you created the botanical, you've created another, a further three more gins. Do you want to tell us a little bit about those? (00:23:09)

22. Now, you also have that in Reposado. (00:25:13)

23. What do you want people to take away their experience with the gin, with the Terroir Gin? (00:25:56)

24. Will you be creating other gins in the future that are based on place as well? (00:26:51)

25. Now, I imagine the gin is available throughout the US. (00:27:20)